


Coffee and Collarbones

by clemwrites



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Photographer, F/F, M/M, Nude Modeling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 08:59:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10434126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clemwrites/pseuds/clemwrites
Summary: Poe is a photographer with a caffeine addiction, Finn is a barista who moonlights as a nude model, and Rey is most definitelynotmeddling...





	

Poe yawned, grazing his headboard with his knuckles as he stretched his arms above his head. Blearily glancing at the flashing alarm clock that stated it was 7:00 a.m., he swung his feet off the bed, managing to make his way into the hallway before BB-8, affectionately known as Bee, lifted her head and stared at him with eyes that demanded breakfast. "Come on, Bee," he sighed, "time for breakfast." She meowed dutifully back at him, trotting after him into the kitchen.  


Tottering along his morning routine, Poe briefly thought of all of the work he needed to complete at the studio today, deciding to go to the new coffee shop that Rey had mentioned to him a few days ago. She just got a part-time job there as a barista through a new friend she had met at school, and she really wanted to meet him for some reason. He dumped some tuna into Bee's bowl, giving her ears a rub before grabbing his camera and laptop, heading out the door and humming as he headed towards his beloved and much needed caffeine. 

* * * * * 

Poe entered Takodana Espresso just as the barista unlocked the door, stepping into the warmth of the cozy shop, happy to be out of the morning cold of the Toronto streets. He made his way up to the counter, eyeing the pastries with interest. Rey had told him to grab an almond croissant—his favourite—but he wasn't sure that any coffee shop pastry could beat his mother's handmade specialties.  


"What can I grab you?" said a voice from behind the counter, and Poe looked up to lock eyes with the barista, nearly stepping back as he realized just how attractive the barista was.  


"Hmmm…a large drip coffee and...an almond croissant," Poe smiled at the barista, about to ask his name just as the door behind him swung open.  


"Finn!" yelled a familiar voice, and he turned around to see Rey charging towards him. "Wait, Poe, you too! Poe, this is Finn, the friend I was talking about!” Rey had always had triple the amount of energy that Poe did in the mornings, but he was awake enough to immediately latch on to the name.  


"Morning, Rey," said the barista, presumably named Finn, "you're about three hours early for your shift, what are you doing here?"  


"Oh, you know. I thought I'd get some studying in before hopping behind the counter, and you can never be up too early!" she hummed gleefully as she barged in behind Finn, pouring herself a coffee and grabbing a muffin before plopping herself down into one of the many chairs scattered around the shop. Poe grabbed his pastry and coffee from Finn, dropping the extra change into the tip jar as he gave Finn his most charming smile.  


"Thanks, Finn!" he said, and turning towards Rey, "I'll see you tonight?" he looked at her quizzically.  


"Of course! I need my daily dose of Bee," she laughed. He waved a goodbye towards the cheerful girl and cute barista. As the door swung behind him he heard her call across the shop, "stop ogling his ass, you oaf!" and he grinned, knowing that the shop had just found a new regular.

* * * * * 

"Rey!" he hissed, "he definitely heard you." Finn let out of moan, sinking his head into his hands on the counter, "I thought you were on my side?"  


"I am!" she smiled cheekily, "you need to go on more dates. You'll never get anywhere if you don't even say hello."  


"Shit, I didn't even greet the guy, did I?" Finn laughed, "You said his name was Poe? How do you know him?"  


"Long story, but essentially we met during a class in first year. He’s some big hotshot photographer that graduated from OCAD and came in to give a guest lecture and tutorial for that photography class I took. We chatted a bit after class and kinda became friends, so now whenever he goes out of town for shoots, he lets me stay over at his apartment to take care of Bee, his cat. She's an absolute terror." Finn laughed at that, fondly remembering the cat one of his foster parents had had. "He seems a bit lonely though, so I act like I love the monster so I can hang out at his place with him without embarrassing him. Maybe sometime I'll bring you along," she winked.  


"Oh shut up, you," he tossed a hand towel at her as the door swung open and a couple walked in. "Morning, folks. What can I get you?"

* * * * * 

Poe quickly slipped into his new routine: wake up, feed Bee, fuss over his hair and outfit for 20 minutes before giving up and sidling along to Takodana, where he would make awkward small talk with Finn before grabbing his coffee and croissant and slip off to his studio. This morning, however, was going to be different. He hadn't been on a date in well over a year, a fact that Rey was overly fond of reminding him of, and he was determined to ask the cute barista, Finn, out. As he walked in the door, he grinned at Finn looked up and immediately shuffled around behind the counter, popping his croissant into the toaster oven to warm up and pouring his coffee.  


“You know, I never thought there’d be a pastry to rival my mother’s, but whatever you put into these things really works,” Poe says through a mouthful of croissant.  


“It’s all Maz’s doing, she’s a whiz in that kitchen,” Finn laughs.  


“Maz?”  


“The owner of the shop,” Finn clarifies, “she doesn’t come out a lot, but she’s usually tinkering away in the kitchen in the back. Your mother’s a good baker, then?”  


“She was the best! I’d kill for just one more home-cooked meal of hers.”  


“Was? Did something happen?”  


“She…passed away,” Poe sighed, his eyes glazing over momentarily with a nostalgic sadness that was all too familiar to Finn. He winced, regretting asking.  


“I’m sorry, Poe.”  


“It’s alright, it was a long time ago. Anyways, how are you this fine morning?” the glazed look drops from his eyes, and he lets loose a flirtatious grin.  


“Alright, seeing as Rey isn’t here yet to pretend like mornings are at all bearable,” Finn sighs and Poe chuckles at him, “but I’m sure you have to get going?”  


“I do. Thanks for the coffee, buddy, I’ll see you first thing tomorrow,” Poe says, heading towards the door. He pauses, turning back to look at Finn, “hey, why don’t you come over with Rey some time? We just do this thing every week where she comes over and we make dinner together. It’s kind of lame but she says she misses Bee, so I let her bully me into cooking.” Finn gives him such a disengaging smile that Poe’s own grin falters for a minute as he’s struck genuine this mysterious man is.  


“I’d love to!”  


“Great,” he laughs, “Does next Thursday work for you?”  


“ _Definitely_! I mean, definitely. It definitely works for me,” Finn chokes out.  


“Wonderful! Well, I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning,” Poe winks, giving a slight wave goodbye as he opens the door. As the door closes behind him he hears Finn let out a breathy laugh. Poe contentedly hums to himself the whole way to his studio.

* * * * *

“Not to be dramatic, but you’re acting like a 16 year old schoolgirl with a crush on her homeroom teacher,” Rey groans.  


“Rey. He’s perfect. He’s _perfect._ ”  


“I know, Finn. You’ve only said so like, five times. Since I got here. _Ten minutes ago._ Now grab me that last muffin, the blueberry muffins Maz makes are like crack. I refuse to let it be wasted on an ungrateful customer.” Finn tosses her the muffin, and as she bites into it she says through a muffled mouth, “Why not just tell the guy you have a massive crush on him? He won’t bite.”  


“I wish he would,” Finn laughs.  


“ _Gross,_ Finn! He’s like my brother!” Rey shouts, throwing a dishtowel at him. He catches it, cackling. “Does he know about your modelling yet?”  


“Not yet, it just feels weird to bring it up. Like, ‘Hey Poe, how do you want your coffee this morning? By the way—I take off my clothes for a living!’”  


“You realize that, for a living, he photographs people who take their clothes off, right?”  


“That’s not _all_ he does!” Finn protests, thinking of the cityscape portraits he had found on Poe's website while he was, admittedly, Internet-stalking him.  


“Yeah, but that’s what he’s known for,” Rey points out. “Have you seen his show in the Gardiner Museum yet? It’s stunning, seriously. I don’t know how he has such an eye for the human body, who knew a collarbone could be so sexy. Sketching your bare ass is hard enough for me!” Now it’s Finn’s turn to throw the towel at Rey.  


“He invited me to dinner with you two next week.”  


“He _did not_!” she shouts, “You get to meet Bee! You’ll probably love her, you freak.”  


“Don’t act like you don’t adore her, you always yell at Poe to show you photos of her when he comes in. Who plays hard to get with a cat?” he asks in disbelief, shaking his head.  


“Oh, whatever,” she scoffs, “at least I’m not all moony-eyed over a man I’ll barely say ‘Hello’ to.” Finn opens his mouth to protest, but stops halfway, blushing and turning away. “Thought so,” Rey retorts.

* * * * *

Monday morning came quickly, and Finn was behind the counter polishing mugs when he heard the familiar bell chime of a customer entering the shop.  


"Morning, Poe! Where are you off to today?" Finn looked up, smiling.  


"I was actually going to stay here, thought I'd edit some photos in a comfy chair before heading to the studio." Poe grabbed the coffee, giving Finn a grateful smile and ritually dropping the extra change into the jar.  


“Of course, just let me know when you need a top up,” he smiled. Poe pulled out his laptop, settling onto the couch closest to the windows as he began his work for the morning. After Finn’s second delivery of fresh coffee, he hesitated above him.  


"Could I take a look at them?" Finn asked, fidgeting with his apron.  


"Sure, but be warned, these are not for the light-hearted," Poe laughed. Finn looked puzzled, so he elaborated, "Sometimes I do what could be referred to as 'artistic nudes.'" Laughing, Finn grabbed himself his own coffee and triple checked that the shop was empty, plopping down beside him on the couch. Poe scrolled through his photos, landing on an image of beautiful man's bare shoulders, posed so that the lighting sculpted each muscle.  


"Rey told me about your photography, but these are so much more beautiful that I’d imagined," Finn whispered.  


"Just wait 'til it gets raunchy," Poe chuckled. Finn sat with him for a little while longer, watching as Poe colour corrected images that made his blush increasingly deeper and deeper.  


"So, you go to school with Rey?" Poe asked in a way that he desperately hoped was nonchalant while he fixed the exposure on a photo of the model's naked body, spread across the white bedsheets he had laid across the mattress in his studio.  


"No. Well, yes. Sort of," Finn stuttered.  


"Sort of?" Poe questioned, looking up, “What’s your degree?”  


"It's embarrassing.”  


“Finn, I take photographs of naked men for a living, I’m sure whatever you do isn’t that embarrassing.” Finn grimaced at this, looking away from Poe.  


“Uh, well I’m a model. For one of her drawing classes. So….I don’t really go to school. I’m just at her school sometimes.”  


“Well, what’s so embarrassing about that?”  


“A….nude model.”  


“Ahhhh, I see,” Poe smiled, “well, there’s nothing embarrassing with that.” He decided to drop the subject as Finn looked down at his shuffling feet, discomfort spreading across his face. At that moment, the bell above the door chimed and two customers entered the door. Finn hopped up, dashing behind the counter to greet the customers. Poe closed his laptop, finished with enough of the edits that he felt comfortable heading to his studio to set up this afternoon’s shoot. Packing his bag, he looked up towards Finn.  


“See you later, buddy!” he called across the room. Finn gave him a distracted wave as he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed out the door. He mused over Finn’s discomfort with nude modelling as he hopped onto the streetcar, wondering if he could ever convince him to model for him in his studio, blushing as he imagined Finn’s form in place of the man in his photographs.

* * * * *

Finn hopped up and dashed behind the counter, relieved to be away from the inquisitive and oh so alluring man. His reasons for his career were his and his alone, and he didn't need a near stranger prying into them, no matter how handsome and charming and _perfect_. Yet, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get the photographer out of his mind for the rest of the morning.

"Ready for class?" Rey bounces into the shop as it strikes noon, "you _are_ modelling today, right?" 

"Yes," he sighs, "Let me just go tell Jessika." He walks into the kitchen behind the counter, calling out for the other barista to come take over, "Jess! I'm leaving!" 

"Coming!" she grunts as she wipes her flour-covered hands on her apron. "Oh, Rey! Didn't see you there." Jess winks at her, and Rey blushes. She _blushes_? 

_What did I miss?_ thinks Finn, _No way this is a thing._ He gives Rey a quizzical look, and she shakes her head quickly, grabbing his hand and dragging him out the door.

"Bye, Jess!" she calls out behind her.

"So...what was that about?" Finn laughs as Rey punches him.

"Nothing! It's absolutely nothing," she glares at him. "Now, you ready to stand butt-ass naked in front of my class?" 

"Ugh, it's like you get some sort of sadistic pleasure out of it," Finn groans. "You know it's embarrassing for me!"

"Don't worry, pal. You don't look embarrassed. And anyways, no one's focusing on that, we're just trying to get the lines of your—"

" _Rey!_ "

"—juuuuust right," she cackles. Finn groaned at her, refusing to stoop to her level on their short walk to campus. Nodding to a few students he recognized from other classes, he slipped from the bathroom into the lecture hall. Self-conscious of the thin layer of robe hiding his nudity from the room full of eager students, he made his way into the centre of the classroom.

"Alright, students. I want you to really focus on the muscles of our model here today," Professor Organa waved her hand in Finn's direction, "I want you to pay attention to what emotions can be conveyed through posture and tensity. Now, let's begin." 

Finn dropped his robe, assuming his first pose. He always shifted uncomfortably in the first few minutes of his hour modelling, aware that all of the eyes on him were seeing him at his most vulnerable. But, as usual, he slid into a sort of zen state, and it almost felt like meditating. As he rotated through poses for the hour, he relaxed into the comfortable monotony of the classroom, silent except for the scratching of pencils. By the end of the session, he always felt better, with more confidence than before—something he was definitely lacking. There was something about having dozens of eyes on him that saw him as something beautiful, something worth being recorded onto their blank canvases, that always left him feeling lighter than before. That's why he did it. Well, that and it pays well. 

"You know, you have some real talent, Rey." Professor Organa comes up behind Rey as Finn hovers behind her, waiting for her pack up her charcoal pencils, "Capturing the lines of the shoulders like that can be difficult for even experienced artists, and you've caught the emotion of his pose so perfectly." 

"You think?" Rey beams.

"Certainly. You translate the vulnerability in his posture to your canvas quite well. Keep up the good work," she gives Rey a pat on the shoulder and heads over to look at the other student's work. Rey turns to Finn with a teasing look in her eyes, but he cuts her short with a congratulatory nudge and smile before she can relentlessly dig into him.

"Just looks like a bunch of scribbles to me," he grins, and winces when she punches him. "Kidding! You know you're great at drawing, you don't need anyone else to feed your massive ego. Celebratory coffee?"

"Of course," she grinned.

* * * * *

Poe's week has been a hectic mess of rushed edits and late night shoots, so he's relieved when it's finally Thursday. Having Rey over has been the best part of his week ever since they’d started the tradition a year ago—partially because Bee bugs someone else for a change, but also partially because he needed the company. Connecting to other people, making friends, _dating_ , it’s all been difficult since, well. He swallowed down thoughts of his mother, turning back to the chaos of his studio. As he's tidying up, he hums along to the music playing in the background. He almost misses the familiar sound of his ringtone before he realizes his back pocket is buzzing.  


"Hello?" he answers.  


"Hey," Rey pauses to cough, "I'm kinda sick."  


"No worries, consider tonight rescheduled. Need me to bring you anything? Soup? Tea?"  


"You're a sweetheart, but no! Just have some fun with Finn, I'll be passed out for the next 48 hours. I hate colds," she whines.  


"Shit."  


"You forgot you invited him, didn't you?"  


"Kind of, it's been a long week!" he hesitates, "what am I going to _wear_?"  


"Poe Dameron. Have you ever even looked in the mirror? Who gives a fuck what you wear."  


"Shut up, you know what I mean."  


"You own like a grand total of three t-shirts, just wear one of those. You’re going to be _fine_ , Poe. Just play nice! I’m gonna go nap and you are going to make a new friend, and none of this involves you calling me fourteen more times before Finn shows up.” Poe groans, knowing that she’s right and he fully would have if she wasn’t sick.  


“Alright, alright. But what movie—”  


“ _Goodbye_ , Poe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first foray into fiction! Please leave any advice or comments you may have.
> 
> Edit: I've tweaked this chapter a bit since it was first published!


End file.
